[Adopted 2-26-2015 by Ord. No. 4-2015]
It is the purpose and intent of this article to establish uniform
regulations for the construction, reconstruction, renovation or repair
and maintenance of existing or new bulkheads within the City of Somers
Point.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
BULKHEAD
A structure separating land and water areas, primarily designed
to retain or prevent sliding of the land or prevent and protect the
upland against erosion and other damage due to wave, storm, overflow
or tidal action.
DAYS
Unless specified to be "business days," "days" means calendar
days.
NJDEP
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Prior to the backfilling of any bulkhead construction, reconstruction,
renovation or repair, the Construction Official shall perform an inspection
to ascertain that the bulkhead has been built pursuant to the plans
that were submitted with the permit application. Written notice of
project completion shall be given to the City Engineer and to the
Construction Official within seven business days of substantial completion
of the project, but prior to backfilling, and that written notification
shall be accompanied by a certification from a land surveyor of the
elevations of the completed bulkhead height. If the Construction Official
determines that the work that was performed pursuant to the bulkhead
permit and the subject bulkhead fail to comply with the plans, drawings
or documents that were submitted with the permit application or fail
to comply with the provisions of this article, then written notice
of final inspection failure shall be transmitted by the Construction
Official by regular first-class mail to the permittee at the address
set forth on the permit application. The notice of final inspection
failure shall detail the reasons for inspection failure. Permittees
shall correct all deficiencies that resulted in final inspection failure
within 20 days of the date of the written notice of final inspection
failure. If, upon the expiration of those 20 days, the bulkhead is
not approved upon inspection by the Construction Official then the
permittee is deemed to be in violation of the duty to maintain and
repair the subject bulkhead as established by this article.
All bulkheads constructed, reconstructed, renovated or repaired
within the City of Somers Point shall conform to the following minimum
specifications:
A. All new bulkheads shall be designed by a New Jersey licensed professional
engineer.
B. All piles, except anchor piles, shall have a butt diameter of not
less than 12 inches and a tip diameter of eight inches.
C. All piles shall be No.1 Douglas Fir Southern Yellow Pine and shall
be treated with chromated copper arsenate to a net retention of 2.5
pounds per cubic foot or an acceptable preservative for marine construction
according to the latest AREA specifications and American Wood Preservers'
Association (A.W.P.A.) specifications. Piles must be constructed of
non-polluting materials, if required or determined by the NJDEP.
D. Sheet piles.
(1) Sheet piles shall be vinyl unless a repair of less than an aggregate
cost of $2,500 to an existing wood bulkhead is being made.
(2) Acceptable vinyl sheet pile material shall conform to the following
specifications:
(a)
Vinyl construction:
[1]
Sheeting material: PVC Class 1-4013-13-0101 ASTM D4216.
[2]
Allowable moment: 3,750 foot-pounds.
E. Wales shall be Douglas Fir or Southern Yellow Pine and shall be treated
with acceptable preservative for marine construction according to
the latest AREA specifications and American Wood Preservers'
Association (A.W.P.A.) specifications. Wales must be constructed of
non-polluting materials, if required or determined by the NJDEP. Wales
shall be four inches by six inches. At least two wales shall be required.
A third wale shall be used where the finished top of bulkhead extends
more than seven feet six inches above the existing bottom. All wale
joints shall be staggered at pilings.
F. All timbers shall be set by the water jet method. Piles shall be set on not more than five-foot-two-inch centers, and shall be tied to anchor piles with tie rods as specified in Subsection
G below. Anchor piles shall be treated, creosoted (or equivalent) pilings and shall have a butt diameter of not less than six inches, and shall be not less than 12 feet in length, and the top of same shall be set at least 18 inches below the elevation of the bulkhead cap.
G. All hardware shall be new, unused, hot-dipped galvanized steel in
accordance with latest standards for saltwater applications.
(1) Bolts and tie rods shall be galvanized after threading and shall
have sufficient length of thread so that no blocking will be required.
No rethreading or thread extension shall be permitted. Bolts shall
be 5/8 inch in diameter and of sufficient length to comply with the
above requirements. Wales are to be bolted to all piles. Tie rods
shall be at least 5/8 inch in diameter and shall have a minimum length
of 14 feet. One tie rod will be required for each main pile. Galvanized
nails or spikes shall be not less than 20 penny and each sheet pile
shall receive not less than two nails or spikes per wale.
H. Construction of bulkhead returns shall tie into adjacent bulkhead
construction.
I. All outfall piping shall be fitted with a tide-control device that
is approved by the City Engineer.
J. Bulkheads subject to wave runup forces.
(1) A bulkhead that is subject to wave runup forces, specifically, a
bulkhead in a V-Zone as described at N.J.A.C. 7:7E-3.18, shall be
designed and certified by a professional engineer to withstand the
forces of wave runup, and shall include a splash pad on the landward
side. The splash pad shall have a minimum width of 10 feet, and may
be constructed of concrete, asphalt or other erosion resistant material.
If a cobblestone or similar splash pad is used, an appropriate subbase
and filter cloth shall be incorporated into the design. The use of
rip-rap along the seaward toe of the bulkhead structure may be required
on a case-by-case basis as a means to limit the scour potential.
(2) A splash pad shall be required for all repaired, reconstructed or
new bulkheads which are subject to wave runup forces.
K. Bulkhead construction, reconstruction, renovation or repair shall
not adversely affect adjoining property.
L. All existing utilities shall be protected from damage during any
work performed pursuant to a bulkhead permit. The bulkhead permittee
shall be responsible for obtaining current "utility markout" from
all appropriate state and local agencies prior to commencement of
work.
M. Deviations from construction materials set forth herein are allowed
so long as all specifications and technical data concerning the proposed
construction material are submitted to the City and are approved in
writing by the Construction Official. The use of any construction
material that is not specifically set forth above or approved by the
Construction Official is strictly prohibited.
N. All design materials herein shall be subject to the dictates of the
NJDEP and USACOF.
O. Where required for installation or repair of a bulkhead, the soil
and water either pumped out or removed from the basin, facility, stream,
channel, marina or other area shall be performed in such a manner
that the surface of the area where the residue of said pumping or
removal placed shall properly drain and so that such pumping or removal
shall not cause or permit water to stand or pond thereon to be the
cause of blocking the other drainage of lands in the immediate vicinity
of such pumping, removal or placing of residue.
P. No person shall use any boat basin, boat docking facility, stream,
lagoon, channel, marina or other area subject to this article unless
and until the said building permit has been issued and has been paid,
and the construction of the boat basin, boat docking facility, stream,
lagoon, channel, marina or other area covered by the building permit
has been completely constructed, including the bulkheading thereof,
and said construction and bulkheading inspected and approved by the
Construction Official. The Department of Public Works and City Engineer
shall inspect the outfall pipe and bulkhead penetration. In lieu of
this inspection, the property owner may submit certification of proper
installation by a licensed New Jersey engineer.
Q. Written approval; liability.
(1) No private contractor shall use a City street end or place any material,
supplies or equipment on or over bulkheads at a City street end without
first receiving specific written approval of the City, which shall
require execution of an indemnity agreement in a form satisfactory
to the City and proof of general liability insurance in an amount
to be determined by the City Administrator and Joint Insurance Fund
representative, which policy of insurance shall be endorsed to add
the City of Somers Point, its officials, officers, agents, servants,
employees and contractors as additional insured and shall be further
endorsed to contain a waiver of subrogation against the City.
(2) If any such damage occurs to the City street, bulkhead or other City
property, or damage or injury occurs to any third person or property,
by any person, individual or business entity (regardless of whether
written permission has or has not been granted by the City), such
person, individual or business entity shall be solely responsible
for any and all damage and shall indemnify and hold harmless the City
of Somers Point and be responsible for the cost of repair of any such
damage or destruction to said City street, bulkhead or City property.
(3) Failure to obtain written permission from the City shall be a violation
of this article subject to the penalties set forth herein which shall
be in addition to the indemnity obligation and cost to repair or correct
any damage or injury.
All other provisions of the Somers Point Municipal Code which
are not affected by this amendment are ratified and confirmed and
shall remain in full force and effect.